A variety of grommets are presently marketed to enable a user to hold, stretch, hang, or otherwise control the positioning of fabric, such as a tarpaulin, by inserting rope, tent stakes, or like objects through these grommets to grasp the fabric. Available grommets and eyelets are permanently attached during the manufacturing process of most tarpaulins but these devices are also easily obtainable at stores so that anyone may affix them to fabrics. In either case, holes must be punctured through fabric or plastic tarps to enable one to attach the grommets. However, thin fabric or plastic tarps may easily tear at places where the grommets or eyelets have been installed when pressure is exerted upon the fabric while cinching the attached ropes and consequently, this has been a continuing problem in the field.
It is thus apparent that since standard grommets and eyelets have certain disadvantages, the need exists for a device that can be temporarily but securely attached to fabric for use as a grommet and then be easily removed without destroying the water resisting usefulness of the plastic or fabric tarpaulins.
My invention relates to bent wire clasps for fabrics and more particularly to a fabric clasp which is suitable for uses over and above the usual fabric clasp functions.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an elongated wire fabric clasp comprising a plurality of resilent convolutions wherein said clasp can be manipulated to be securely attached to fabric or like material thus permitting great pressure or pull to be exerted from the clasp in opposition to the fabric without slipping loose, puncturing, or tearing the fabric and then can be easily removed so that other uses may be made of the fabric.
It is another object of this invention to provide a fabric clasp whereby a plurality of these clasps can be attached at desired locations upon a piece of fabric thus regulating the size of the stretched fabric within the perimeter of the attached clasps and further, that many fabrics may be firmly linked together by applying said clasps at the overlapped edges of the joined fabrics.
It is still another object to provide a method to relieve the tension placed upon light fabrics or plastic tarps stretched between attached and opposing clasps and to provide a clasp device with means for readily connecting rope, hooks, or other useful objects such as a nail-like tent stake to anchor said clasp to the ground.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a fabric clasp device for uses other than with fabric so that said device may function, for example, as a fulcrum for a rope cinch, be used as a clasp for paper, and serve as a pen and/or pencil holder.